[shakenbake]

i had an epsieotimy (spelling is bad i know lol ) with both of my boys and ive heard it is better to rip naturally but i have heard horrible story's of ripping up but i aslo have a small bit of like extra skin almost like a hemorrhoid on my viginal opening that if i do have an epes i am planing on telling my doctor to fix while he stitches me back up i just want to input from others i remember when i had my last ds that when the doc came in and "cut me" i had a class 4 and it made it feel so much better once he had done it my boy was big for me 8ps 13oz and my first was 7ps 7oz but with my last it took him a good 25mins to stitch me ugh just wish i could know that i wasn't going to rip up and id be ok with doing it myself

 

[Asher]

I am not really sure what you are asking, but will tell you my experience, if it helps?

I asked for no episiotomy with #1. Preferred to rip naturally. Well, she cut me, anyway. I did not heal well and it was just not good.

My next three, I requested the same thing. I was not cut AND I did not rip (and one of those came out posterior with both hands up by her head!). I know there are some good reasons to cut rarely (like they need to get baby out quick), BUT otherwise, I would rather not be cut. Some doctors cut out of total habit, whether the mother may need it or not. I'd rather take the chance of ripping naturally than receiving a cut that I may not even need. That's just my personal opinion, though.

 

[kriket]

I can't remember who told me this, so credit yourself if you are due!

If you but a nick in a plastic bag it tears faster then if you just struggle with it

thats how I look at it. I don't particulary want to have an nice fresh cut on my yoni that I have to pee on, bleed on, and then push a baby past.

If you tear, you tear. Cutting isn't going to lessen a tear, you're cut... KWIM?

Epis have never clicked with me.

 

[kcparker]

Don't get cut unless it's a medical emergency, like the baby has to come out in the next push or he's going to be hypoxic kind of emergency. Tears tend to be less severe, they heal better, and you will have less blood loss. The tearing will tend to work around blood vessels that the episiotomy will cut through, and I'd rather risk a 1st or 2nd degree tear than agree to a 4th degree cut.

If you are worried, you can do a lot to decrease the risk of tearing:

- Do some stretching exercises/massage with your perineum prior to birth. It will help the tissues get used to the stretching feeling, and you won't freak out because the sensation will be familiar.
- Breathe the baby out. It isn't your first baby, so you can just breathe, not actively PUSH, through contractons, and babe will just slide on out.
- Also, you can push in a gravity neutral position like side-lying or hands and knees. Those are good for lessening your chances of tearing.
- The jury is out on whether this helps or not, but you can also use warm compresses as you are pushing. The warmth helps the perineum stretch and brings more blood to the area.
- Put in your birth plan, NO episiotomy and NO directed pushing.

 

[mamabutterfly]

You don't have to rip or tear or be cut!

These tissues are meant to stretch open. Push slowly, blow, don't let anyone count or rush it. Have a midwife or doc who knows how to help you ease the head out. Use olive oil.

It's very rare that a baby really "doesn't fit". Push lying on your side. (or in water

)

Good luck!

 

[MamaMonica]

Moved to Birth and Beyond.

 

[Asher]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mamabutterfly You don't have to rip or tear or be cut! These tissues are meant to stretch open. Push slowly, blow, don't let anyone count or rush it. Have a midwife or doc who knows how to help you ease the head out. Use olive oil. It's very rare that a baby really "doesn't fit". Push lying on your side. (or in water ) Good luck!

Yes! Check out perineal massage and talk to your dr. or midwife about it, too!!! My mw with my last had me slow down (I know that's hard b/c when that ring of fire hits, first instinct is to push through it and push hard to get it out quick!

) and did some light massage while I was pushing to help me stretch. I also did have a water birth. I credit those two things for why I did not rip.

 

[Super~Single~Mama]

I'm probably the only one here who will say this, but I ripped with mine in Jan, bad and it took FOREVER (11.5 weeks) for me to be pain free - and after 13.5 weeks I'm still scared to have sex b/c the pain was so bad for so long. I ripped in a very strange way. I would have rather been cut looking back on it - then at least it would have been a straight line and easier to suture. Instead it was semi-circular in shape, with a cut where the midwife had to cut the band of skin that was stretched across my baby's head when I tore.

It was AWFUL - I couldn't even sit down in a chair for 3 weeks without a boppy pillow under me. I don't even want another baby b/c the recovery was so terrible and I'm afraid that since it happened once it will happen again.

 

[TzippityDoulah]

I don't think you're goign to be able to look it up and find a perfect answer. in the opinion of most natural birthers and natural birth professionals the opinion is that epi's are not good for the majority. in the rare instance one is "needed" it's generally b/c of a previous "professional" sewing a woman badly or even too tight. of course there are always exceptions to this rule, as but for the "standard practice of episiotomies" i think most of us degree this could be considered genital mutilation.

another thought to consider, is one is much more likely to need help" getting a baby out when they are on their back. the perinium just doesn't stretch as it's peek that way. and during birth you need all the help with stretch you can get. physically speaking, suppine lends itself to harsh tears and shoulder dystocias more than any other positions.

that said 7 and 8 lbs babies are not truly big... they are totally normal. 10#? no that's a bit on the bigger side

but still birthable (ask many mamas here!)

 

[Sillygoose]

My experience, FWIW. I had a fast pushing stage with my first baby (30 minutes), she came out with her arm by her head, and I tore. I had a 3rd degree tear, a natural one -- I was with midwives, and they don't cut unless there's a major reason. The epi rate for the practice I was with was 1% -- it's one of the reasons I was so confident about their care.

So, 3rd degree tear, and even still, I didn't need more than the ibuprofen/acetaminophen combo to take care of the discomfort over the next week or so. Comfrey infusion in the sitz bath helped perineal discomfort immensely, too. And let me tell you, I was committed to no drugs for the birth, but I'm all over OTC painkillers if there's a need for them. I will happily take a tylenol for a headache, for instance -- this is to let you know that I wasn't being a hero with the pain. I had some harder prescription painkillers that I was given, but I never needed them.

I'd recommend that you say no to routine epi, and ask for the other forms of perineum support that are available.

 

[AlexisT]

It's not just the opinions of natural birthers. Routine episiotomy has fallen out of favor in obstetrics, too. The big teaching hospitals here (med school affiliated, very into high tech birth) have pretty low rates, sometimes as low as 10%.

I remember being told in my antenatal classes that the cut was better than the tear if it was severe, but the problem is, we usually don't know in advance what's going to happen.

 

[KristyDi]

I had a 2nd degree tear. I had told my CNM not to cut me. The healing was super easy. I never needed anything more than the ibuprofen and only that for 2 days and because the nurses kept encouraging me to take it. The hemorrhoids were much more painful than the tear.

 

[kriket]

we had a whole conversation about tearing and cutting and no one mentioned the husband stitch!

 

[Belle]

My first dd had an 14.75" head and a nuchal hand (hand up near her face on the way out) and I only had a 1st degree tear. I probably wouldn't have torn at all if they hadn't been doing their inane counting and the purple pushing. The OB stitched me up but I've since learned that 1st degree tears heal better when not stitched. Until the stitches dissolved I was in a lot of pain.

My second birth I did push but once her head was on my perineum (ring of fire) I quite pushing and just panted during the contractions. I didn't feel any burning once I stopped pushing. It wasn't really as hard as resisting the urge to push at the beginning of the second stage. I only had a skid mark and felt great.

 

[Lula's Mom]

Quote:

Originally Posted by HennyPenny another thought to consider, is one is much more likely to need help" getting a baby out when they are on their back.

I totally agree with this. I gave birth to my dd semi-reclining, and tore up into one of my inner labia just a bit. A 1/4 inch or so. It's very delicate tissue and couldn't be sewn, though my MW tried, so there's just a little piece of it hanging 7 years later. Oh well. I'd much rather have that little tear than be cut!

With my son's birth, I was squatting, and that child slid out FAST without so much as a stretch mark. The tissue was all stretched equally around his head, so there was no tearing. And he was 9, 4, a pound heavier than his sister. Your positioning is very important.